The 46 Best Assassin Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on January 19, 2026

Ezio Auditore da Firenze | Illustration by Luisa J. Preissler

Magic's assassin commanders were fairly limited to a few typal options in Dimir () and a certain Mardu () monarch once upon a time, but Assassin’s Creed gave us a lot of new legendary assassins for our command zone. They came in plenty of colors, but the greatest ones still do two of the best things you could ask for: act as lords or payoffs, and give you an alternate win or kill condition. Alt wincons are almost a subtheme with legendary assassins.

Where do the assassins from ACR rank as commanders, compared to the rest of the Magic meta? Let’s have a look at all of them!

What Are Assassin Commanders in MTG?

Ezio, Blade of Vengeance | Illustration by Jake Murray

Assassin commanders are legendary creatures with the assassin creature subtype. Commanders that care about outlaws can also be considered assassin commanders, but I focus on the assassin creature type.

There are about 50 legendary assassins largely thanks to Assassin’s Creed. I don't count Ezio, Brash Novice, even though it can become an assassin with enough counters.

My rankings also consider these commanders for their potential at the helm of a deck using assassins as a theme, although some may work in other strategies.

Loyal Mention: Interceptor, Shadow's Hound

I was so close to adding Interceptor, Shadow's Hound in the regular listing, but this dog deserves special mention since it is not an assassin itself. Of course, this sturdy pup does incredibly well with many commanders on this list and is a good recursion creature that comes back on command.

#46. Layla Hassan

No. There aren’t enough mono-white assassins to make Layla Hassan even remotely viable.

#48. Kiku, Night’s Flower

Given the fact that there are multicolor assassin commanders, Kiku, Night's Flower just isn’t worth your time. The activated ability makes it useful in the 99, but why play a mono-black commander that misses out on all the multicolor payoffs?

#44. Ramses Overdark

Ramses Overdark can be painful for a Voltron-style EDH deck. It costs you 6 mana the first time you cast it, and it won’t be the easiest to track down if it’s not already in your collection. There’s a much better Ramses out there.

#43. Combustion Man

Combustion Man doesn't always hit the target you want, but sometimes all you want to do is through around a lot of damage. So pump up the power and slam some damage and you'll punish opponents. The ability to aim for lands and noncreatures alike, makes this near-silent assassin especially dangerous.

#42. Aphelia, Viper Whisperer

Aphelia, Viper Whisperer has pretty costly abilities for what you get, and the gorgons and snakes won't sneak up on anyone, but the effects are so assassin appropriate, I just had to add it.

#41. Roshan, Hidden Magister

Roshan, Hidden Magister is a pure support piece that gives your non-assassins the typal effects that your assassins get elsewhere. You could build a deck filled with mono-black assassins, or a deck that uses lots of morph, manifest, cloak, and disguise creatures.

#40. Arno Dorian

There aren’t enough Rakdos () assassin payoffs to make an Arno Dorian deck special. You can play it and disguise Arno in plain sight, I guess. But this Rakdos commander doesn’t have any ability when you flip it over, so you’d have to look to support pieces if you want that.

#39. Shadow, Mysterious Assassin

Shadow, Mysterious Assassin has deathtouch which conditionally works like unblockability. The trigger for dealing combat damage to a player is a cool Divination combined with a fling to the face. With support like evasion and creature or artifact recursion, Shadow is one of the coolest assassins you can pull off.

#38. Lydia Frye

You can run enough assassin lords in a Lydia Frye deck to make this Dimir commander virtually unblockable. Lydia also wants you to swing with your army of assassins or otherwise tap them to surveil during your end step. I just don’t see enough to motivate me to run Lydia over other, better Dimir () options.

#37. Adéwalé, Breaker of Chains

I can certainly see Adéwalé, Breaker of Chains as a deckhand in a Grixis () pirate deck or another assassin deck with its ETB. I’m not how sure how relevant the second ability is unless you’re playing a lot of vehicles, which feels like a disjointed precon theme.

#36. Evie Frye + Jacob Frye

As a pair of “partners with” commanders, Evie Frye and Jacob Frye make a Dimir assassins deck that cares about having assassins in your graveyard to exile, specifically ones with freerunning. That specificity makes me hesitate about running these two, since it means you need your Assassin’s Creed cards.

#35. Ezio, Blade of Vengeance

Ezio, Blade of Vengeance pays you in cards whenever your assassins deal combat damage to your opponents. It’s a little expensive from the command zone for what it does, but I wouldn’t begrudge an Ezio fan for making a deck around any of this character’s cards.

#34. Shao Jun

I’d build a Shao Jun deck around almost any artifact tokens I could think of. Thopters, Treasures, Clues…. You need two artifacts to ping for 1, which is much fairer than I’d have made this.

#33. Shaun & Rebecca, Agents

Shaun & Rebecca, Agents is less likely to be a Bant commander () for assassins than a legends-matter commander. You need a legendary creature on board to utilize The Animus, but your commander and this artifact run a chain that slowly sends cards to exile with memory counters. You can get some interesting value out of legendary creatures with powerful attack triggers like Aragorn and Arwen, Wed and The Tarrasque.

#32. Desmond Miles

Desmond Miles gives you a mono-black commander that cares about your assassins wherever they are. You can run Roshan, Hidden Magister to increase your count with other good black creatures or run mono-black shapeshifters like Changeling Outcast or the Shapeshifter tokens from Black Market Connections..

#31. Vraska, the Silencer

You could build your Vraska, the Silencer deck around a deathtouch theme, which is good if you also want to run a bunch of assassins. It also turns your removal into ramp, since you get Treasure tokens if you pay the .

#30. Aveline de Grandpré

Aveline de Grandpré plays in a similar space to Vraska, though it cares about dealing combat damage. You could honestly make a deathtouch deck with either of them at the front and the other as a support piece so that you’re covered no matter what happens in combat.

#29. Mary Read and Anne Bonny

Its rules text is built for looting, vehicles and pirates rather than assassins, but Mary Read and Anne Bonny gives you a tap ability that digs through your library for your best answers. Good support for your Admiral Brass, Unsinkable or Don Andres, the Renegade deck, but I’d look elsewhere if you want an assassin typal commander.

#28. Virtus the Veiled

Virtus the Veiled is best played partnered with Gorm the Great, since the giant gives this assassin some added semi-evasion. Are you building it with a bunch of deathtouch creatures, or are you adding in payoffs for when your opponents lose life?

#27. Eivor, Wolf-Kissed

Eivor, Wolf-Kissed gives you a saga commander that can benefit from some of ACR’s historic payoffs and Sigurd, Jarl of Ravensthorpe. A 6-mana 7/6 out of the command zone is nothing to sneeze at either, though you’re less likely to run assassins as your theme here.

#26. Basim Ibn Ishaq

As a cheap 2-mana creature with a lot of text, Basim Ibn Ishaq makes my brain-hamster start chugging some espresso. The goal is to cast something historic every turn before your combat phase to take advantage of this combat damage trigger. This is a deck that won’t mind bouncing your cheaper artifacts to your hand to take advantage of the cast trigger. And anything that wants “cheap artifacts” implies “cheerios.”

#25. Vincent, Vengeful Atoner

Red Vincent looks at combat damage from any of your creatures which is great. You gotta be prepared for Commander politics and multiple players coming after you because a 7-power Vincent, Vengeful Atoner means all your opponents are as weak as their weakest link, and they have reason to block as such.

#24. Achilles Davenport

Freerunning helps Achilles Davenport evade the commander tax as long as you can continue to deal combat damage to a player. It’s a lord with menace, so it helps enable your other assassins’ freerunning costs.

#23. Bayek of Siwa

Double strike is one of my favorite abilities to grant to other creatures, so I always enjoy seeing a creature that does that. Bayek of Siwa is another historic-matters commander from Assassin’s Creed, which is starting to make me wonder if there’s a space for a Lord of the Assassins deck that weaves in these effects with the legends-matter effects from Lord of the Rings.

#22. Aya of Alexandria

I can’t wait for Wizards to print a saga creature. Aya of Alexandria rewards your artifact of legendary creatures for get into the red zone with Assassin tokens whenever they connect.= The Assassin tokens can help with chump blocking while you attack, so I definitely see potential here.

#21. Thraximundar

Oh, I see. That’s how we’re playing it, huh? Forced sacrifice on an attack trigger. Then that forced sacrifice makes Thraximundar grow. And if your opponent has their own aristocrats? Ha!

#20. Vincent Valentine / Galian Beast

Vincent Valentine counts one of the best death triggers you can in Commander, any creature dying. This loads Vincent up to be a huge lifelink, trampling threat as Galian Beast. The automatic reanimation is just brutal even if you are limited to black cards.

#19. Arbaaz Mir

I can see plenty of places to run Arbaaz Mir in support, but as a Boros commander, cheap artifacts are the way to go here. Arbaaz doesn’t look so intimidating, but add in Surtr, Fiery Jötun, some damage doublers and triplers, and other historic or artifact payoffs (casting or enters triggers especially), and you could make a sick burn deck.

#18. Kassandra, Eagle Bearer

This Assassin’s Creed commander cares about legendary equipment, which ties into the historic theme of the Boros () commanders from that MTG set. At 3-mana and with the legendary specification, I think Kassandra, Eagle Bearer isn’t too expensive and points to a specific enough build that it has legs.

#17. Ratonhnhaké꞉ton

Ratonhnhaké꞉ton points you towards an equipment deck,  but this Esper commander () does generate tokens. Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain could be a support piece since it cares about modified creatures dealing combat damage. Why not modify your commander and your tokens?

#16. Etrata, the Silencer

Etrata’s first card is a Dimir assassin with an alternate win condition. You’ll have to take out one opponent at a time with Etrata, the Silencer, which matters less if you run clones. Or you could just pack the deck with other assassins with alt wincons like Ramses, Assassin Lord.

#15. Mari, the Killing Quill

Mari, the Killing Quill cares about most outlaws (though not warlocks) and gives them deathtouch. You get a convoluted form of card draw paired with graveyard hate, which is great. A valid commander, but Mari is essential support in almost any other assassin deck you’re running.

#14. Massacre Girl

Massacre Girl has the kind of ETB that makes control players hold up a counterspell just for your commander. I love the slaughter that follows a successful ETB, and you should be running this with effects that care about creature deaths.

#13. Etrata, Deadly Fugitive

This Etrata from Murders at Karlov Manor has the advantage of being cheaper out of the command zone than the original card. Etrata, Deadly Fugitive loves stealing your opponents’ cards when your assassins deal combat damage to players, which shouldn’t be too hard for this creature type.

#12. Eivor, Battle-Ready

Eivor, Battle-Ready’s attack trigger cares about your equipment but doesn’t care which creatures they’re attached to. You don’t have to make it a Voltron commander, but you certainly can. There certainly are lots of options for anyone looking at a Boros equipment commander.

#11. Xira, the Golden Sting

Have you heard the buzz? Xira, the Golden Sting is a waspy commander that’s here for an egg-cracking time. The ability doesn’t specify whose creature to target, so you can always “egg your creatures,” as it were. The egg counter doesn’t cause any harm to you, so if you run out of opposing creatures, why not? Then this Jund commander can put eggs on the Insects that hatched from your eggs… Wulfgar of Icewind Dale, Radiant Performer, and Drivnod, Carnage Dominus can all act as ability doublers for you, too.

#10. The Lord of Pain

The Lord of Pain is not the style of assassin I think of first. That said, a brand of assassin is one that goes straight for the headshot, and The Lord of Pain does this extremely well with direct damage hits to the dome. It doesn't do much to assist any other assassins, so you could say it works alone.

#9. Anhelo, the Painter

Anhelo, the Painter fronts the Maestros Menace precon from Streets of New Capenna, and it’s more of a spellslinger deck that needs some kind of sacrifice fodder. You need creatures with power two or greater to sacrifice to the casualty 2 ability Anhelo grants your first instant/sorcery of each turn, but a Grixis commander‘s color identity lets it generate a bunch of Zombies as easy fodder.

#8. Ramses, Assassin Lord

Ramses, Assassin Lord does what it says on the tin. The alternative win condition is fantastic to have around, and it’s the main reason this Ramses earns a higher ranking than Achilles Davenport.

#7. Olivia, Opulent Outlaw

An evasive Mardu commander that cares about when your outlaws deal combat damage to a player? Sign me up! Olivia, Opulent Outlaw, probably the best outlaw commander in the game, cares about more than just assassins, so you might run it as a less focused deck than some of the other assassin decks. Regardless, I appreciate how Olivia gives you Treasure tokens and something to do with them.

#6. Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad’s attack trigger needs you to run other assassins to fuel that powerful attack trigger. It keeps your army protected, if you want to see it that way. You can also take advantage of the tokens by sacrificing them to your favorite outlets just before the end of combat for extra value. And if you want to keep the tokens around, look no further than The Master, Multiplied.

#5. Edward Kenway

I like the flexibility that Edward Kenway gives you, although a vehicle deck with cheap assassins and pirates to crew the fleet is what’s drawing me here. The more creatures you can tap, the more Treasure you earn on your end step.

#4. Massacre Girl, Known Killer

Massacre Girl, Known Killer grants all of your creatures wither, but that doesn’t have to be the only way that you reduce creatures’ toughness. Wither is still a great way to enable your creature death payoffs and get your value engine rolling. This is a perfect place to run the original Massacre Girl.

#3. Kelsien, the Plague

Kelsien, the Plague plays like an archer, tapping to deal damage to your opponents’ creatures. You want to grant it deathtouch with something like Basilisk Collar to accumulate experience counters, allowing it to grow into a bigger and bigger threat. How you surround this Mardu () commander is up to you, but there are now plenty of assassins to make this a typal build if you want.

#2. Queen Marchesa

By using the monarch mechanic and generating Assassin tokens, Queen Marchesa has always played into the assassin world, at least thematically. It couldn’t use the Dimir assassin payoffs, though, which held it back. But Assassin’s Creed has given it a bunch of other assassins to use, including some historic payoffs. Outlaws of Thunder Junction also gave us some Mardu outlaw payoffs, which should breathe some new life into decks built around this excellent monarch commander.

#1. Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Ezio Auditore da Firenze is the 5-color commander for your assassin deckbuilding needs. It gives you plenty of cost reduction in the form of freerunning and, lo! Behold! An alternate kill condition. If you’re a beginner to 5-color decks or don’t want to break the bank on the best 5-color lands and mana base, you can focus your deck around Dimir or Mardu colors, with just enough color fixing to manage the cost on the combat damage trigger. It’s incredibly versatile, and there isn’t really a “wrong” direction with Ezio.

Best Assassin Commander Payoffs

Many of the legendary assassin creatures are also assassin payoffs themselves, so I won’t reiterate them here. Assassins also count as outlaws, which have their own payoffs, especially within Outlaws of Thunder Junction and the OTC Commander precons.

Assassin’s Creed also contains plenty of other payoffs for your assassin deck. Hidden Blade and Brotherhood Regalia are some good equipment cards as a starting point. Brotherhood Headquarters is a land that gives you some typal color fixing.

Assassin’s Creed introduced the freerunning mechanic, which cares about dealing combat damage with assassins or your commander. Eagle Vision is a draw spell best used on your postcombat main phase, while Overpowering Attack gives you some extra combats. The set also brought Loyal Inventor which is such a friend to assassins that they get tutored into the hand instead of the top of the library.

Assassin commanders with alternative win conditions usually care about dealing combat damage, so anything that makes creatures unblockable is worth considering, starting with Rogue's Passage. Then continued with Access Tunnel and Secret Tunnel. Extra combat cards are another good way to accelerate these alternative winning strategies.

Assassins also belong to the order of outlaws, so At Knifepoint, Vihaan, Goldwaker, and Laughing Jasper Flint are a few of the best ways to take advantage of that membership.

Contract Completed

Queen Marchesa | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

And that’s all the legends in Magic’s Brotherhood of Assassins! ACR may have flooded their ranks, including some interesting, if not entirely synergistic options, but your best bet is to stock up on combat damage payoffs, no matter which commander you run.

Which assassin do you run as your commander? How does it stack up against party decks? Do you prefer ninjas instead? Let me know in the comments below or over on Draftsim’s Discord.

Stay silent and deadly!